Scratch one possible solution from the list of alternatives that might save Bonny Reservoir from becoming Colorado's largest, and most embarrassing, mudhole. Squelching a rumor traveling through wildlife circles, the top Kansas water official said Monday his state will not offer a quick-fix remedy of the Bonny dilemma by forgiving the annual water loss caused by evaporation. "Our primary interest is in getting our share of water allocated under the compact," said Dave Barfield, chief engineer of water resources for the Kansas Department of Agriculture. The popular fishery near Burlington and the Colorado state park it supports have become focal points of an ongoing conflict among these two states and Nebraska over ownership of the water flowing in the Republican River drainage. Put simply, Colorado owes more water under a longstanding compact than the river, which has its headwaters in this state, can deliver.

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